LA COMIC CON 2022
LA Comic Con took over the Los Angeles Convention Center on the first week of December. It’s considered the largest LA event for comics, gaming, sci-fi and pop culture. We’ve now attended this event twice and it’s been a blast every single time.
You just can’t be in a bad mood while surrounded by cosplayers on their way to exciting panels. The energy inside the LA Convention Center is electrifying as crowds make their way through the main floor that includes vendor booths, as well as various stages where different panels would be happening. Though you could easily spend most of your day going down the rows looking at all of the wonderful products from different vendors, there’s also many informative panels to attend throughout the day.
We were lucky enough to have enough time in the day to attend the Latine Representation in Comic panel. Speakers of the panel were Jonathan Fernandez (Gossip Girl, We Need to Talk, Lethal Weapon) and Dani Fernandez (Ralph Breaks the Internet, DC Comics: Harley Quinn). Hosted by The National Hispanic Media Coalition the panel covered topics from how the industry has changed in recent years, representation that got it right and what we can all do to keep the movement going in the right direction.
Jonathan Fernandez discussed the many roadblocks that he faced when he first started auditioning for acting roles. He initially felt like he couldn’t go out for roles that were for lawyers or doctors because the representation that already existed didn’t include characters that looked like him. Yet, he also didn’t feel comfortable going for roles that were Spanish-speaking, so he found himself struggling to find his place. That’s the one of the things about Latine representation that few people actually talk about; you are expected to be everything at the same time. The nuance of every different culture under the Latine umbrella often gets lost, so it leaves the audience exclaiming about the lack of representation.
When asked how the lack of proper representation can change Dani Fernandez urges the audience to just try to get in the rooms. Even if you happen to lack tv/movie/comic experience, there’s a plethora of life experience that you come in that room with and that should give you enough confidence to pitch your project. What’s the end goal? Dani Fernandez says she would love to get to a place where Latine representation gears away from Family shows. She wants to see us as the villains, as the heroes, as the surgeons and everything else in between.
These are the conversations that are so important, LA Comic Con not only gives you a space to fangirl over your favorite things; but they also allow room for conversations that are often not being had. Though LA Comic Con took quite a bit of my money, (they really do give space to some of the best artists out there, I just had to buy all of the art) I would still make time to go over and over again.
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